Learning multiplication
Sandra Dodd
Subject: learning multipication
What is a fun way to learn how to memorize multipication facts. I'm
asking mostly for myself and my 10 year old who has asked to memorize
them. I have flash cards that we play with, but they are sooooo
boring after a few minutes. He knows 0 thru 3's. He thinks it would
be fun to challenge us all to a multipication show down and see who is
the fastest. I know I'd already loose because I never memorized mine
fully.
So, in the interest of good smarty pants family fun...anyone have any
fun ideas on how we can go about learning this?
I deleted that post from the moderation queue, and in explaining why,
I thought maybe the discussion wouldn't hurt as much as allowing a
post like that straight through would have. This list should NOT turn
into "unschooling ways to do schoolish things."
My response to the author:
**************************
If he's asked to memorize them, just play with him the way he wants to
play with it.
My recommendation, though is NOT to worry about memorizing them, not
even to encourage it past helping him do it some way he's chosen.
Maybe just do the "skip counting"--count by threes, count by fours,
count by fives, back and forth, or around the car. we did some of that.
I think "good smarty pants family fun," though, is a category you
should drop in favor of "good fun" of any sort.
**************************
This page is about times tables and unschoolers:
http://sandradodd.com/timestables
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
What is a fun way to learn how to memorize multipication facts. I'm
asking mostly for myself and my 10 year old who has asked to memorize
them. I have flash cards that we play with, but they are sooooo
boring after a few minutes. He knows 0 thru 3's. He thinks it would
be fun to challenge us all to a multipication show down and see who is
the fastest. I know I'd already loose because I never memorized mine
fully.
So, in the interest of good smarty pants family fun...anyone have any
fun ideas on how we can go about learning this?
I deleted that post from the moderation queue, and in explaining why,
I thought maybe the discussion wouldn't hurt as much as allowing a
post like that straight through would have. This list should NOT turn
into "unschooling ways to do schoolish things."
My response to the author:
**************************
If he's asked to memorize them, just play with him the way he wants to
play with it.
My recommendation, though is NOT to worry about memorizing them, not
even to encourage it past helping him do it some way he's chosen.
Maybe just do the "skip counting"--count by threes, count by fours,
count by fives, back and forth, or around the car. we did some of that.
I think "good smarty pants family fun," though, is a category you
should drop in favor of "good fun" of any sort.
**************************
This page is about times tables and unschoolers:
http://sandradodd.com/timestables
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
plaidpanties666
If he likes games, what about playing games like Yatzee or Game 24 using a calculator? We play games with calculators, here - both goof around with the calculator and use it to help out during games.
Learning multiplication in real life is alot like learning to use a tape measure or set of socket wrenches - you don't necessarily learn faster or better by deciding to memorize something. As you use the infomation, you remember the imporant stuff, and one day realize you can "see" 11/16 or know which metric wrench falls in between two "English" wrenches.
---Meredith
Learning multiplication in real life is alot like learning to use a tape measure or set of socket wrenches - you don't necessarily learn faster or better by deciding to memorize something. As you use the infomation, you remember the imporant stuff, and one day realize you can "see" 11/16 or know which metric wrench falls in between two "English" wrenches.
---Meredith
k
We got a cash drawer that came with miniature bills and plastic coins.When
we first saw it in the store I didn't get it because I reminded Karl that we
have real money and he dropped the idea in favor of buying something else he
wanted more anyway at the time. Then we were browsing the aisles in Rite-Aid
a couple nights ago and he pointed it out again so I got it.
It turned out to be a lot of playing with multiplication or what I call
accelerated addition. We've played with similar ideas with Lego bricks and
also just talking out loud about how quantities work and how to count or
weigh things up. At the grocery store, if I say I have exactly $20 we figure
out what we can get with that and such a problem involves doubling or
tripling things we can buy. In fact, the first time we talked about anything
to do with multiplying ... it was a question about the meaning of the words
double, triple, quadruple, etc. Later when Karl wanted to know what 100%
means, I explained with examples of doubling all of one thing makes 200%,
etc.
Karl got it. Learning is an organic process for each individual. I really
wasn't confident with any of it until oh about 5th or 6th grade. I went to
school.
I totally did not have fun in any multiplication competitions. Karl, as good
as he is with these ideas, hates to be on the spot and get something wrong
because it makes him feel dumb. Really! about something he's hardly slow at,
which he's not yet perfect or totally smooth at. It takes a lot of thinking
about how it goes before he can rattle stuff off. He volunteers lots of
these things after an undisclosed amount of thinking goes by. He couldn't do
that in a quiz type game setting because it would be a matter of thinking of
the correct answers with an audience looking on or racing to answer before
he could. Like Jeopardy. Imagine the pressure to think of correct replies as
a large group of people looks on, holding their collective breath and
gasping at what your child says. Even at home with close family, it could be
a bit much.
Maybe your child wants to try memorizing. Maybe the child thinks everybody
"should" be able to memorize. I don't memorize info well and, since I went
to school, it was required. I remember how hard multiplication was for me. I
still add up (skip count) to get the right amount even though my mom, who's
good at memorizing, showed me all the memorizing tricks for the higher
numbers. If your child wants to play a multiplication competition, I would
be sensitive to changes in interest to continue or discontinue, and keep it
as low key as possible, with the emphasis on fun. If the child no longer is
having fun (struggling/frozen/frowning), have some familiar things in mind
ready to transition to that are pretty sure to be fun for the child.
I want learning to keep rolling along as effortlessly as it has been. So far
Karl's very confident at getting ideas and using them in his own chosen
example, in a unique unexpected example usually.
~Katherine
we first saw it in the store I didn't get it because I reminded Karl that we
have real money and he dropped the idea in favor of buying something else he
wanted more anyway at the time. Then we were browsing the aisles in Rite-Aid
a couple nights ago and he pointed it out again so I got it.
It turned out to be a lot of playing with multiplication or what I call
accelerated addition. We've played with similar ideas with Lego bricks and
also just talking out loud about how quantities work and how to count or
weigh things up. At the grocery store, if I say I have exactly $20 we figure
out what we can get with that and such a problem involves doubling or
tripling things we can buy. In fact, the first time we talked about anything
to do with multiplying ... it was a question about the meaning of the words
double, triple, quadruple, etc. Later when Karl wanted to know what 100%
means, I explained with examples of doubling all of one thing makes 200%,
etc.
Karl got it. Learning is an organic process for each individual. I really
wasn't confident with any of it until oh about 5th or 6th grade. I went to
school.
I totally did not have fun in any multiplication competitions. Karl, as good
as he is with these ideas, hates to be on the spot and get something wrong
because it makes him feel dumb. Really! about something he's hardly slow at,
which he's not yet perfect or totally smooth at. It takes a lot of thinking
about how it goes before he can rattle stuff off. He volunteers lots of
these things after an undisclosed amount of thinking goes by. He couldn't do
that in a quiz type game setting because it would be a matter of thinking of
the correct answers with an audience looking on or racing to answer before
he could. Like Jeopardy. Imagine the pressure to think of correct replies as
a large group of people looks on, holding their collective breath and
gasping at what your child says. Even at home with close family, it could be
a bit much.
Maybe your child wants to try memorizing. Maybe the child thinks everybody
"should" be able to memorize. I don't memorize info well and, since I went
to school, it was required. I remember how hard multiplication was for me. I
still add up (skip count) to get the right amount even though my mom, who's
good at memorizing, showed me all the memorizing tricks for the higher
numbers. If your child wants to play a multiplication competition, I would
be sensitive to changes in interest to continue or discontinue, and keep it
as low key as possible, with the emphasis on fun. If the child no longer is
having fun (struggling/frozen/frowning), have some familiar things in mind
ready to transition to that are pretty sure to be fun for the child.
I want learning to keep rolling along as effortlessly as it has been. So far
Karl's very confident at getting ideas and using them in his own chosen
example, in a unique unexpected example usually.
~Katherine
On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 2:04 PM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
> Subject: learning multipication
>
>
> What is a fun way to learn how to memorize multipication facts. I'm
> asking mostly for myself and my 10 year old who has asked to memorize
> them. I have flash cards that we play with, but they are sooooo
> boring after a few minutes. He knows 0 thru 3's. He thinks it would
> be fun to challenge us all to a multipication show down and see who is
> the fastest. I know I'd already loose because I never memorized mine
> fully.
>
> So, in the interest of good smarty pants family fun...anyone have any
> fun ideas on how we can go about learning this?
>
>
> I deleted that post from the moderation queue, and in explaining why,
> I thought maybe the discussion wouldn't hurt as much as allowing a
> post like that straight through would have. This list should NOT turn
> into "unschooling ways to do schoolish things."
>
> My response to the author:
> **************************
> If he's asked to memorize them, just play with him the way he wants to
> play with it.
> My recommendation, though is NOT to worry about memorizing them, not
> even to encourage it past helping him do it some way he's chosen.
>
> Maybe just do the "skip counting"--count by threes, count by fours,
> count by fives, back and forth, or around the car. we did some of that.
>
> I think "good smarty pants family fun," though, is a category you
> should drop in favor of "good fun" of any sort.
>
> **************************
> This page is about times tables and unschoolers:
>
> http://sandradodd.com/timestables
>
> Sandra
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-It turned out to be a lot of playing with multiplication or what I
call
accelerated addition.-=-
Why "accelerated addition"?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
call
accelerated addition.-=-
Why "accelerated addition"?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
k
I think of it that way because the word "multiply" didn't mean anything when
I was trying to figure out the multiplication tables. Nobody said well ...
it's just a different way to do addition. The only reason it might be
accelerated is when one remembers what some number is added up so many
times. The word "times" also confused me because it wasn't about when
something takes place.
It's easy to lose the opportunity to make concepts easy when shortcut terms
don't make sense to the person trying to understand what it's about.
~Katherine
I was trying to figure out the multiplication tables. Nobody said well ...
it's just a different way to do addition. The only reason it might be
accelerated is when one remembers what some number is added up so many
times. The word "times" also confused me because it wasn't about when
something takes place.
It's easy to lose the opportunity to make concepts easy when shortcut terms
don't make sense to the person trying to understand what it's about.
~Katherine
On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 5:47 PM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
> -=-It turned out to be a lot of playing with multiplication or what I
> call
> accelerated addition.-=-
>
> Why "accelerated addition"?
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
debbiernoll
> >If he likes games, what about playing games like Yatzee or Game 24 using acalculator? We play games with calculators, here - both goof around with the
calculator and use it to help out during games.< <
We just bought a game called math dice at the bookstore the other day. It's a quick, fun game that incorporates addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The website is www.ThinkFun.com
wtexans
===We just bought a game called math dice at the bookstore the other day. It's a quick, fun game that incorporates addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.===
Here's what I read about it: You have 2 "target" dice and 3 "scoring" dice. You roll the dice to generate a target number and three scoring numbers. Arrange the scoring numbers into combinations of operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division or even powers to create an equation whose result is closest to, or equal to, the target number.
So you could actually take the concept and come up with something similar without having to buy the game if you have some Yahtzee or other game dice already around. (You could use slips of paper or index cards to come up with a variety of target numbers.)
Alternatively, you could go into the kitchen and cook by a recipe, doubling or tripling it or dividing it in half, to utilize those same concepts (with a yummier, albeit messier!, end result).
Glenda
Here's what I read about it: You have 2 "target" dice and 3 "scoring" dice. You roll the dice to generate a target number and three scoring numbers. Arrange the scoring numbers into combinations of operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division or even powers to create an equation whose result is closest to, or equal to, the target number.
So you could actually take the concept and come up with something similar without having to buy the game if you have some Yahtzee or other game dice already around. (You could use slips of paper or index cards to come up with a variety of target numbers.)
Alternatively, you could go into the kitchen and cook by a recipe, doubling or tripling it or dividing it in half, to utilize those same concepts (with a yummier, albeit messier!, end result).
Glenda
Sandra Dodd
-=-It's easy to lose the opportunity to make concepts easy when
shortcut terms
don't make sense to the person trying to understand what it's about.-=-
Well "repeated addition" would't bother me any but (as a mathphobish
person) "accelerated" sounds either faster or harder, and that puts
the brakes on for some people.
It's not faster addition. It can be as slow as counting on your
fingers.
Vaguely perhaps "times" was used in directions (for dances, or
masonry, or music) in the days that English was settling into modern
English. It was very common for people to have music lessons and dance
lessons. And those are in patterns that you do however many times.
Sets. Measures.
So you do "three" (of something actual, not of the abstract number
itself) four times, and that's twelve of whatever it was. Bricks.
Single side-steps. Measures of music.
That's how it made sense to me.
Give me $5, four times, made sense too.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
shortcut terms
don't make sense to the person trying to understand what it's about.-=-
Well "repeated addition" would't bother me any but (as a mathphobish
person) "accelerated" sounds either faster or harder, and that puts
the brakes on for some people.
It's not faster addition. It can be as slow as counting on your
fingers.
Vaguely perhaps "times" was used in directions (for dances, or
masonry, or music) in the days that English was settling into modern
English. It was very common for people to have music lessons and dance
lessons. And those are in patterns that you do however many times.
Sets. Measures.
So you do "three" (of something actual, not of the abstract number
itself) four times, and that's twelve of whatever it was. Bricks.
Single side-steps. Measures of music.
That's how it made sense to me.
Give me $5, four times, made sense too.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
wtexans
===The word "times" also confused me because it wasn't about when something takes place.===
One of the ways I explained multiplication to Andrew was "5 times 5" is the same as 5 added together 5 times. It makes more sense to me phrased that way, even though all throughout my school years I heard it phrased as "___ times ___".
Glenda
One of the ways I explained multiplication to Andrew was "5 times 5" is the same as 5 added together 5 times. It makes more sense to me phrased that way, even though all throughout my school years I heard it phrased as "___ times ___".
Glenda
Andrea Catalano
---Vaguely perhaps "times" was used in directions (for dances, or masonry, or music) in the days that English was settling into modern English. It was very common for people to have music lessons and dance
lessons. And those are in patterns that you do however many times. Sets. Measures.---
Riding the subway today, my four year old asked how many stops we had until we'd get off the train. I answered, "8 stops." After a moment he asked, "How may stops is 8, two times?" I answered "16," and he replied, "Wow, 16 stops till we get home again!" He was figuring out the number of stops with our return trip. Pretty cool.
Andrea
Sent from my iPhone
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
lessons. And those are in patterns that you do however many times. Sets. Measures.---
Riding the subway today, my four year old asked how many stops we had until we'd get off the train. I answered, "8 stops." After a moment he asked, "How may stops is 8, two times?" I answered "16," and he replied, "Wow, 16 stops till we get home again!" He was figuring out the number of stops with our return trip. Pretty cool.
Andrea
Sent from my iPhone
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
k
>>> It's not faster addition. It can be as slow as counting on yourfingers.<<<
Yes. I see your point. Concepts are easy to see once you see them, and not a
second before.
~Katherine
On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 8:57 PM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
> -=-It's easy to lose the opportunity to make concepts easy when
> shortcut terms
> don't make sense to the person trying to understand what it's about.-=-
>
> Well "repeated addition" would't bother me any but (as a mathphobish
> person) "accelerated" sounds either faster or harder, and that puts
> the brakes on for some people.
>
> It's not faster addition. It can be as slow as counting on your
> fingers.
>
> Vaguely perhaps "times" was used in directions (for dances, or
> masonry, or music) in the days that English was settling into modern
> English. It was very common for people to have music lessons and dance
> lessons. And those are in patterns that you do however many times.
> Sets. Measures.
>
> So you do "three" (of something actual, not of the abstract number
> itself) four times, and that's twelve of whatever it was. Bricks.
> Single side-steps. Measures of music.
>
> That's how it made sense to me.
>
> Give me $5, four times, made sense too.
>
> Sandra
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
diana jenner
On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 11:04 AM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
couldn't figure out how to write this out....)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVbcra3rCqc
Another fun math thing you can do with your hands: Binary Counting (the
actual counting starts at 1:36, the opening is a bit dry if you already know
what binary counting is)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apCLHmPsC68&feature=related
You can put a spin on UNO by incorporating math functions: 9 is on the
discard pile, for example, the next player can play 4+5 or 3x3 or 2+6+1,
etc. to get rid of more than one card.
I have really fond memories of the newsprint graph paper with 1"x1" squares
and writing out multiplication charts for myself with crayon (I can smell it
now!). Writing things out has been the key to my memorization skills.
~diana :)
xoxoxoxo
hannahbearski.wordpress.com
hannahsashes.blogspot.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>Here's a video of how to multiply 9s on your hands (I love YouTube, I
>
> Subject: learning multipication
>
> What is a fun way to learn how to memorize multipication facts. I'm
> asking mostly for myself
>
couldn't figure out how to write this out....)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVbcra3rCqc
Another fun math thing you can do with your hands: Binary Counting (the
actual counting starts at 1:36, the opening is a bit dry if you already know
what binary counting is)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apCLHmPsC68&feature=related
You can put a spin on UNO by incorporating math functions: 9 is on the
discard pile, for example, the next player can play 4+5 or 3x3 or 2+6+1,
etc. to get rid of more than one card.
I have really fond memories of the newsprint graph paper with 1"x1" squares
and writing out multiplication charts for myself with crayon (I can smell it
now!). Writing things out has been the key to my memorization skills.
~diana :)
xoxoxoxo
hannahbearski.wordpress.com
hannahsashes.blogspot.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-Concepts are easy to see once you see them, and not a
second before.-=-
I'm just a big word geek; always have been. The first book I bought
with my own money in 4th grade was a dictionary, from Scholastic books
(little flyers in the classroom, orders went in batches). The other
kids were [NOT] impressed. The same year I bought a book on
etymology. I owned those both until I was grown and read the heck out
of them. When the dictionary fell apart, I cut some of my favorite
pictures out. They're probably in an envelope around here somewhere.
"Accelerated" is also a word I heard a lot in school. I was in an
experimental program (but they didn't tell us at the time), and I was
in an accelerated class. I did hear that word, but not "this is all
part of an analysis somewhere else." They all did what they did, and
I spent my spare time reading about words, and history, and the
history of words. The best part of school, for me, was the frequent
extra twenty minutes or half an hour after I had "finished my work"
and could read what I wanted to.
I was about to say I also read fiction, but really that was and still
is a small part of my reading. So in a way, I guess, "I cheat." I
play with concepts and word meanings every day.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
second before.-=-
I'm just a big word geek; always have been. The first book I bought
with my own money in 4th grade was a dictionary, from Scholastic books
(little flyers in the classroom, orders went in batches). The other
kids were [NOT] impressed. The same year I bought a book on
etymology. I owned those both until I was grown and read the heck out
of them. When the dictionary fell apart, I cut some of my favorite
pictures out. They're probably in an envelope around here somewhere.
"Accelerated" is also a word I heard a lot in school. I was in an
experimental program (but they didn't tell us at the time), and I was
in an accelerated class. I did hear that word, but not "this is all
part of an analysis somewhere else." They all did what they did, and
I spent my spare time reading about words, and history, and the
history of words. The best part of school, for me, was the frequent
extra twenty minutes or half an hour after I had "finished my work"
and could read what I wanted to.
I was about to say I also read fiction, but really that was and still
is a small part of my reading. So in a way, I guess, "I cheat." I
play with concepts and word meanings every day.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
plaidpanties666
Andrea Catalano <fennel1001@...> wrote:
That's a nice picture of how kids "discover" or "invent" the basic principles of mathematics naturally. Some kids do a lot of that! Others are quieter about their discovery process, but its still there. Our human brains are designed to make sense of the patterns in our world, and "mathematics" is one way of describing those patterns.
Here's a bit of trivia... its fairly common for people to "discover" addition, multiplication, fractions and division before they wrap their minds around subtraction. I don't know why I find that tidbit so fascinating - maybe because its so very different from the way "math" is usually taught.
---Meredith
> Riding the subway today, my four year old asked how many stops we had until we'd get off the train. I answered, "8 stops." After a moment he asked, "How may stops is 8, two times?" I answered "16," and he replied, "Wow, 16 stops till we get home again!" He was figuring out the number of stops with our return trip. Pretty cool.***********
That's a nice picture of how kids "discover" or "invent" the basic principles of mathematics naturally. Some kids do a lot of that! Others are quieter about their discovery process, but its still there. Our human brains are designed to make sense of the patterns in our world, and "mathematics" is one way of describing those patterns.
Here's a bit of trivia... its fairly common for people to "discover" addition, multiplication, fractions and division before they wrap their minds around subtraction. I don't know why I find that tidbit so fascinating - maybe because its so very different from the way "math" is usually taught.
---Meredith
cookiesforthree
I loved, loved the youtube video of multiplying by 9 using your hands!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVbcra3rCqc
Whenever my kids hear me on youtube, they come running to see what I'm watching. We all were amazed how easy that was to learn!!
Fun!! Thanks for that!
Jen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVbcra3rCqc
Whenever my kids hear me on youtube, they come running to see what I'm watching. We all were amazed how easy that was to learn!!
Fun!! Thanks for that!
Jen
k
>>>The best part of school, for me, was the frequent extra twenty minutes orhalf an hour after I had "finished my work" and could read what I wanted
to.<<<
For me as well. Although I wasn't in experimental classes that I know of. (I
think I was in the mostly-ignore-as-hopeless-and-gather-statistics-from
class.)
People learn all the time but they might have better feeling for what they
enjoy for themselves rather than what they were made. I read stuff in school
that was required and most of it doesn't have a good feeling to it. Yet the
reading I did that was my own was fun, and I remember it with happiness.
Same for my child. Whatever he chooses to do, it's his. I like Andrea's
description of her four year figuring out how to double the time to get the
round trip of 16 stops until they're back home. I like it because it's a
child playing with ideas and, as Meredith says, it's the child's "invention"
or discovery of multiplication or art or history or flowers or elbows.
There's a joyful memory of that with Karl which is really mine not his since
he was so young when he discovered them but he still knows what elbows are
from then on. To me it's very like the discovery of new words for babies
learning to talk. Karl asked me the other day what expensive is, and today
he asked me to spell smörgåsbord, which I thought I misspelled but I
actually didn't, yet it would have been fine even if I had misspelled it.
Whatever a child is learning, it's the same. Learning arithmetic is the same
as discovering new words to speak with. More words. Different words, more
connections, other applications.
And no matter who first invents or discovers something, there might be
someone somewhere else inventing or discovering it too, at the same time or
at another time. That's what happened with many of the great discoveries: it
wasn't easy to know who to give the Nobel or the Pulitzer to because the
discovery/invention happened in several places fairly simultaneously.
~Katherine
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Erica Chase-Salerno
That's SO COOL!!!
~ Erica
~ Erica
On Aug 25, 2010, at 3:31 PM, cookiesforthree wrote:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVbcra3rCqc
> Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest � Unsubscribe � Terms of Use
>
> .
>
>
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